Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $236.60.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Badger Meter from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.2%

BMI opened at $239.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $242.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.68. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.77, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 15.74%. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 29.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 162.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Badger Meter by 83.0% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.